The tale is a variation ofThe Wizard of Oz (1939)for in this story, three young children assist a space creature to return to his home.They had four children (only one boy):Nels (Steve Brown), the eldest boy, a future doctorKatrin (or Katherine) (Barbara Bel Geddes), an aspiring writer-authorChristine (Peggy McIntyre)Dagmar (June Hedin), a future veterinarianFamily life was recalled in flashback style from the diary of the oldest daughter, Katrin as she narrated and read from her recently-written autobiographical novel.In the heat of the night, I""m feelin"" motherless somehow.Stars with evil eyes stare from the skies.Ain""t a woman here before knows how to make the mornin"" come.It""s so hard to keep control, well, I could sell my soul for just a little light.In the heat of the night, I""ve got trouble wall to wall Oh yes I have.I repeat, I repeat in the night must be an endin"" to us all.Oh Lord, it won""t be long, just you be strong, and it""ll be all right in the heat of the night.The camera picked up a waist-down view of one lone individual disembarking on the desert platform, a black man with his suitcase, who opened and entered the screen door of the station.This earlier version, starring a very sinister Anton Walbrook and Diana Wynyard, was directed by Thorold Dickinson in the UK and released in the US as bothGaslightandAngel Street (1940).